Well I got a nail in my tire today. My question is on my 1995 yamaha fzr 600 I have a 150 series tire on right now, can I go any wider? Getting a new rear tire tommorrow and I thought I'd ask you guys cause the guy at the local bike shop likes to bs around alot.

Stick with the stock rear tyre. You will find a boarder tyre will drag down speed, & make the cornering a bit lousy.

I have a '97 Yamaha YZF 600 with 160 in width which I stick with, while the Honda 929 & 954 are stock with 190, but reduce then to 180 again for better cornering.

Will admit when the rear tyre had woren out on the 600r I had in stock a 170 for a GSXR-750 & had sold. Put on the 170 since mine has a broader wheel. That is when I noted the bike did not handle as well & once that wore out I shifted back to stock.

Check on prices & you will find one size up often means a bit more money, but not longer life.

Originally posted by wheelie_steve I would stick with the stock width if I were you. Tire widths other than stock will cause handling issues. A wider tire throws the whole geometry off from how it is designed to work.

+1

All the reading I've done indicates there's a careful balance of tire width with handling design and when you make an alteration you potentially throw the balance out of whack. This info has come from various long-time riders of 80's bikes, generally.

SportbikeWorld Supermoderator

Dragging knee is for the track, and dragging tail is for the lot. --Kane Friesen

When you're in a car, you're watching a movie; when you're on a bike, you're in the movie. --Robert Pirsig

Register Now

In order to be able to post messages on the Sportbike Forum: Sportbike Motorcycle Forums forums, you must first register.
Please enter your desired user name, your email address and other required details in the form below.

User Name:

Password

Please enter a password for your user account. Note that passwords are case-sensitive.